LEADING TEAMS WORKING REMOTELY

Effective leadership has always been about achieving results through people. Traditionally, leaders connect with team members through multiple daily face-to-face meetings, calls and of course workplace ad-hoc interactions. With the recent & sudden shift to entire teams working from home, it is expected that team dynamics in this regard may have changed.

We are now in the third week of most Organisations working remotely in Nigeria, I am also mindful of the fact that some countries have been locked down for longer periods, again not by choice and without notice as such have had to work remotely for longer periods. Today, I thought I'd reach out to Team Leads who have had to make a sharp turn in their leadership experience to manage their teams working remotely. Let's discuss this career matter practically. So how have you fared as a team lead or head of the department? Perhaps a good way to think about your response would be; how would your team members rate your remote leadership in the past 2 weeks on a scale of 1 - 5? If your candid self-assessment is nearer to 5 than 1 then you certainly deserve a pat on the back. For most, it would be a learning curve that may be steep. So let's spend a few minutes sharing some tips.

Let's begin with some remote working pain points I have heard some team leads moan about; 1. No face to face connection with team members - how can I tell what's going on with team members?

2. Accountability tracking - It's difficult to know who is working and who is not.

3. Tracking engagement - How do I keep the team motivated and engaged remotely? To be honest, the way to be effective with leading teams working remotely is not to major on these minors but rather to focus on compensators and leverage them fully. Below are a few tips that team leads should pay attention to whilst leading teams working remotely ; 1. Set clear goals and accountabilities It always begins and ends with goals. It is important that the leader ensures that goals/deliverables for the season of working remotely are clearly spelt out and that there are no ambiguities. It would be wrong to submit those goals have already been set before the remote working commenced as such everyone should be on the same page, recall that Covid-19 related remote working gave little time for teams to prepare. An effective leader would spend time to refresh the team goals at this time to ensure that any impending change is rightly captured. It also helps to put all details of the goal-setting in writing. Clear goals and deliverables understood by both parties will help guard against surprises at the performance review stage. 2. Provide one-on-one coaching support Coaching as a management tool remains valid for all seasons including when working remotely. Team members will be at different levels of adaptability as such would require support. It is important to pay attention to how your team members are coping with the new ways of working and how it is impacting their performance and productivity. Please discuss your observations and provide support one on preferably. An effective team leader will be ready to do lots of coaching at this time given the multiple learning opportunities presented to team members at a time like this. 3. Check-In, provide feedback & Review periodically It is important to check- in with the team periodically. Interestingly, working remotely does not change performance management. It is still expected that team members deliver on their agreed goals as such it would be important for team leaders to set out time in their calendars for one-on-one sessions to check in with team members to review and provide feedback on how they are doing. 4. Be deliberate about engagement activities Employee engagement becomes even more important in a remote working period. Team leads need to find a way to make this happen even social events can be organised remotely 🙂. The employees must get a sense that it is more than working and you care about how they are doing. The effective team lead will organise simple activities and communicate with the team in unique ways to keep the team connected and motivated. Covid-19 remote working as is currently the norm does require a bit more in this area. There is a lot of distraction already and the effective team lead must recognise this and connect with team members at the head, heart and hand levels. 5. Recognise and Celebrate Wins There is a tendency to relegate recognition to the background because you are not in a face to face mode. To keep team spirit alive it is important to call out team wins and celebrate as appropriate. This would help keep the team winning together even though they are in different locations. Recognition can be done with simple email communication and symbolic gestures. Yes, gifts can still be given in recognition for excellence and going the extra mile whilst working remotely. It is not advisable not to delay recognition during remote working it should rather be more spontaneous than planned to keep the motivation levels high. The words of a leader I admire rings true as I round off this piece to emphasize why team leaders must pay attention to leading effectively whilst working remotely in this period. He says leaders who succeed in a crisis are those who are able to galvanise their people effectively towards achieving the desired goals. Remote working should neither reduce team effectiveness, harmony or performance and it truly rises and falls on team leadership. All the best to all leaders and team leads out there leading teams working remotely. Keep safe, keep well, keep your hands clean and keep your social distance! All the very best!! #covid-19 #Careermatters #workingfromhome